The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has demanded this Monday that the urgent procedures of the Administration, such as the application for retirement pension and unemployment benefit, among other urgent procedures, be resolved in a maximum of five days due to the “collapse” that, according to the complaint, affects the appointment system in Social Security and in the offices of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE).
The organization maintains that the lack of available appointments is generating widespread delays in numerous provinces, making access to basic procedures difficult for thousands of citizens. For this reason, in addition to setting maximum resolution deadlines, it calls for eliminating the obligation to make an appointment for in-person attention and establishing quick attention mechanisms for the most urgent procedures.
Delays in applying for retirement pension
The OCU has carried out a study to evaluate the real availability of appointments at the National Social Security Institute (INSS), focused on the application for a retirement pension, one of the most sensitive procedures for citizens accessing retirement.
The analysis was carried out in offices in 26 provinces, with six appointment attempts over two weeks. According to the organization, the results reflect an “unacceptable” situation: in more than half of the attempts it was not possible to get an appointment in the same city.
In capitals such as Granada, Tarragona, Valencia or Zaragoza, no appointment was obtained in any of the six attempts. In other cities there is availability, although with long waits: 28 days on average in Bilbao, 20 in Murcia and more than 23 in Malaga, deadlines that the organization considers excessive for an essential procedure.
Waits that affect the unemployment application
The OCU extended the analysis to the SEPE to check the availability of appointments to request unemployment benefits, a procedure that must be carried out within a maximum of 15 business days from the loss of employment in order not to lose part of the aid.
Although the availability of appointments is somewhat greater than in Social Security, the organization considers that the situation is “far from reasonable.” In Barcelona and Tarragona no appointment was made either in the capital or in the rest of the province.
Furthermore, in cities such as Albacete, Bilbao or Oviedo, the available appointments were offered between 28 and 32 days later, deadlines that may cause the loss of part of the subsidy or require the procedure to be completed online even when the applicant does not have sufficient digital resources or knowledge.
Maximum deadlines and priority attention
Given this scenario, the OCU proposes establishing a binding commitment to resolve urgent procedures in a maximum of five days and the rest in a period of up to ten days.
Meanwhile, the organization asks to enable priority attention for vulnerable groups, older people without a digital certificate and citizens with critical administrative deadlines. It also proposes that the main offices have support tables without an appointment to help obtain digital certificates and facilitate access to electronic administration.
In addition, it demands that the Administration publish monthly statistics on service times per office and establish internal control mechanisms when unjustified delays occur. According to the OCU, these measures are necessary to guarantee equal access to essential public services such as retirement or unemployment benefits.